490r/498t pups VS BB Pro pups

[amigator]

Look forward to hearing what you think!

My vote goes to the 490/498 set found on LP Customs + Supremes

[FennRx]

really depends on the style of music. when i was playing more heavy stuff, the 490/498 in my Studio worked well. now i play more blues-classic-rock stuff and I love my BB Pros.

[Gibson CS]

I agree with FennRx...

I BB Pros are just what the doctor ordered ( No pun intended Fenn )

Im into blues, classic rock. Gibson was really bang on when they designed

the BB P's

[Tim Plains]

My custom has the 490/498 and they do sound sweet, but I think that I prefer the BB as well. My vote goes to BBs.

[ramhi4x]

I have a pre-historic LP Classic 1960 Ri, I replaced the 500T/496R, which I do not like, with BB Pro's and to my suprise there was not much difference. I have an SG with 498T/490R in it and love the sound in that guitar. I want to try them in my LP, but I heard they sound harsh in a maple top guitar, anyone have experiance with this please?

 

THANKS!

[Weednuts]

This post is kinda old but I have to give my opinion here as I just picked up a LP Studio with BBs and am eager to share my opinion.

 

490/498 in my SG Std.

BB pros in my LP Studio.

 

Bridge:

 

The 498 is clearly hotter. Has more midrange, hard to control sometimes but gives the pickup a unique sound with a lot of character. Even tho it's hot, it's really not great for a lot of metal. Doesn't clean up with the knob as good as BBpros. Flubby in the low sometimes especially with certain amps. Very pronounced upper midrange that is hard to control sometimes. VERY unforgiving with a heavy hand.

 

The BBpros are less hot and makes clean stuff easier. Easier to control midrange. Has better balance, low end is not flubby. Works much better with the guitar volume. I think the BBpro makes a better metal pickup because it in comparison to the 498 it seems almost scooped. Although in reality it does have nice mid tones but the 498 is just so heavy on the mids.

 

Neck:

 

The 490 is a great pickup for Jazz and blues, very round, not too overpowered, and very fat sounding. Highs are quite subdued.

 

The BBpro in the neck is great for jazz and blues, a bit more defined than the 490.

 

In conclusion:

 

They're both great, all Gibson pickups are great imho.

I couldn't really pick. I like having both. The 498 has great character but is it bit of a bear to use sometimes. The BBpros seem better balanced but don't have quite the character of the 498s. Overall I'd probably end up picking the BBs because they far more versatile. At least that's the way I feel right now.

 

BTW - I play classic rock, blues, some old metal, and a bit of jazz. Mostly classic rock. My main amp is a Mesa Boogie DC-10, but lately I've been playing a lot with a vintage 50w Marshall. At home I practice in the bedroom with a Roland Microcube. Best little practice amp.

[saintzband]

Years ago I went on my sound adventure. I had my LP Standard and a Fender Twin and wanted that classic rock sound. Nothing worked. I changed out the 498 for some Classic 57's - (they worked so well ion my SG Supreme - sigh) disappointing. Then I bought the infamous SD SH4 JB pup. Still disappointing. Then I thought, "I like the sound of my PRS... maybe the FHS bridge pup'll do the trick - so close but ....not.... quite ...there.

 

After a bit, I decided to sell my LP. She had the chunky 50's neck which I never liked so I put the stock 498 in her and something unexpected happened. This time, the sound was perfect. Why? Because the pup and axe are only half of the sound equation. The amp is the other side which colors your sound as much as anything else. You see, in the mean time with all the pup swapping, I bought a Mesa amp (a used Nomad). The combo of the LP w/ the 498 ringing through that tone monster of an amp is what made the difference. She sounded incredible ... but I still sold the LP... and bought an '04 LP Standard Limited Ed in Santa Fe Sunrise (w/ the slim 60's profile). It came with BB Pros as the stock pup but it aint got 'em no more.

 

The moral? We can rave about this pup or that one but the whole sound chain begins with the string and ends with the speaker. Everything in between affects your tone.

[davii]

I have a pre-historic LP Classic 1960 Ri, I replaced the 500T/496R, which I do not like, with BB Pro's and to my suprise there was not much difference. I have an SG with 498T/490R in it and love the sound in that guitar. I want to try them in my LP, but I heard they sound harsh in a maple top guitar, anyone have experiance with this please?

 

THANKS!

 

My '95 LP Standard has 490R/498T and they seem nicely balanced to me. I've also got them in an Epi double neck and have previously had 496R/498T in my Mockingbird ST.

 

I really didn't like the 496R at all, always thought it dull/lifeless, but the 498T was ok, if not as nice as in the LP. I'd originally wanted at least one 490T for the 12-string neck of the Epi, fearing the 498T + 12 strings with bridge timbre might be a bit harsh and have to admit I'm not too sure on how I feel about it (on either neck tbh). The Epi is a laminate body mind you, unlike the LP and Mockingbird.

 

I've since been wondering if guitars with some kind of chambering work better for the 498T, but guess it's all speculative at the end of the day. All that said, I adore the 490Rs. They just work :)

[capmaster]

Just can't find a definitive decision. The 490R/498T setup works well in my 2011 L6S guitars, the BB Pros do the same in my 2012 LP Std. The 498T does match the ceramic loaded 496R in my Alex Lifeson LP Axcess rather nicely IMHO. Sadly I don't have much playing and listening experience with the 490T which is strangely rare as stock equipment. I also have to say that the '57 classics in my SG Supra seem a little bit lifeless to me compared to the great sound provided by the Fishman Tune-O-Matic piezo bridge on the same instrument and to the '57 Classics on my Epiphone LP 1960 Tribute. Don't know if that might be due to the tog pot for the center magnetic pickup. Perhaps two 490Rs and one 490T would match the SG Supra better.

 

In general, I don't remember to ever have heard a really bad sounding Gibson pickup, or at least no bad sounds caused by the pickup itself. Of course, pickups are a matter of taste, as strings are, too. Nevertheless, most serious trouble is due to strings IMHO. I do prefer chrome or stainless steel wound strings over nickel wounds, and all my guitars are strung with the very bright sounding Optima Chromes. It seems weird to me but many higher priced instruments come stock equipped with - at least to my taste - mushy and flubby sounding strings. I like most Epiphone guitars over similar Gibson models when comparing them playing the strings they come with, and I found lots of very cheap off-brand instruments at several dealers that come with very high quality strings. In contrary, some of my Fenders came stock with rattling windings on the D4th, causing buzz and bad intonation. All my Gibsons and Fenders came to life after restringing with the bright sounding Optima Chromes.

 

By the way, the DC resistances of the pickups on my Epiphone 1960 Tribute denoted as Gibson Classic '57 AlNiCo IIs read within less than two percent deviation the same values as those of my Gibson LP Std 2012's BB Pros! I am not equipped for measuring inductance and capacitance of pickups, but to my ears these two guitars sound fairly the same when compared using the "normal" serial pickup settings. The A4 at the 10th fret of the B2nd is a little more dull on the Gibson, whereas all other notes on the Gibson do have slightly more sustain than on the Epiphone. However, the sum of strings, body, neck, finish and pickups delivers fairly the same results. Finally, I think the open coil Seymour Duncan '59 neck and Pearly Gates bridge humbuckers of my Fender Special Series FMT Telecaster HH were able to outperform several pickups on several other guitars, too, regardless of brand and depending on taste, of course. However, I basically do not like open coils...